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Tag: nirmala sitharaman

  • Government, financial sector regulators pitch for a dynamic system for early stress indicators for economy

    Government, financial sector regulators pitch for a dynamic system for early stress indicators for economy

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    The Centre, along with financial sector regulators, has underlined the need for evolving a system of early warning indicators for the economy. The government has simultaneously asserted that the Indian economy and financial sector are well protected and that there is no spillover effect from the failure of American banks.

    These issues were deliberated on in a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. A significant consensus was reached in the meeting to run a special drive to help people get unclaimed deposits, shares, and dividends.

    Briefing reporters after the meeting, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said an early warning system for the whole economy would possibly be in line with the RBI’s indicators to identify stress for banks.

    “This is one set of indicators. There has to be a wide set of indicators that capture information from the financial markets, global markets, and the economy. It is evolving a system to get a sense of stress. The idea is to get the stress identified much earlier, before it becomes prominent and reaches a difficult situation,” he said.

    Talking about the strength of the financial sector, especially in the wake of issues related to some banks in the US, he said: “We see that the global financial situation is daunting, but, at the same time, the Indian economy and financial sector are well protected and well regulated. Of course we have to be cautious and be on our toes.”  Asked if the spillover of the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and the liquidity pressure faced by Credit Suisse were discussed, he said it was not specifically brought up, but there is no spillover.

    Also read: More dominos waiting to fall in the US banking business: Aswath Damodaran

    Special Drive

    During the meeting, the Finance Minister advised all regulators to conduct a special drive to facilitate the settlement of unclaimed deposits and claims in the financial sector across all segments, such as banking deposits, shares and dividends, mutual funds, insurance, etc. Seth said that special efforts will be made in those cases where nominee details are available but the nominees are not aware. “Each regulator should take action so that nominee details are available. To reach out so that contact details are available and those claims are settled,” Seth said.

    G Sec

    Seth also informed that the effort is to have a seamless experience in G Sec with the use of technology. “With the use of technology, how can a seamless experience be provided to potential investors, whether they come through the RBI infrastructure, which is the market infrastructure route, or the SEBI infrastructure route. This was hitherto not possible, but today, with the use of technology, it is possible,” he said.

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  • Budget 2023: Infra sector seeks rationalisation of GST, easier bank credit

    Budget 2023: Infra sector seeks rationalisation of GST, easier bank credit

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    The infrastructure industry on Monday demanded rationalisation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), easier bank credit and a hike in public expenditure at the customary pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

    Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) in its presentation to the Finance Minister has sought a reduction of levies and taxes on the telecom sector amid new new-age 5G networks and services roll out across the country.

    “…our demand for cost reduction should be looked at expeditiously,” Director General of COAI SP Kochhar said after the online meeting of the infrastructure industry experts with the Finance Minister.

    The telecom industry has also pitched for rationalisation of GST, reduction of licence fee to one per cent from three per cent and lowering of customs duty on equipment.

    COAI counts telecom operators like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as its members.

    According to sources, the representatives of the auto industry sought the government’s support in terms of long-term policies for establishing India as a strong electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing base.

    They also pitched for government support to the EV companies for reskilling the workforce.

    The Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) was of the view that the bank loan rating (BLR) requirement is proving to be a great dampener in the growth of MSMEs and sought immediate intervention in setting up a joint committee of the RBI, banks and stakeholders to develop a unique rating model for MSMEs, which focuses on solvency alone.

    Observing that some private sector banks levy pre-payment penalties (four per cent) on MSMEs who try to change the bank if unsatisfied with poor services, FISME made a plea to form a task force to study the extent of the spread of the malice and suggest remedial measures in a time bound manner.

    Industry body PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) suggested that infrastructure investments in the country must not be less than 10 per cent of the GDP to achieve state-of-the-art infrastructure and become a developed economy by 2047.

    CII pitched for setting up separate SPVs in the infrastructure sector in a bid to execute individual infrastructure projects due to the mandate of tender conditions issued by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

    Sitharaman kicked off pre-budget consultations by holding meetings with industry chamber heads and infrastructure experts on their expectations from the upcoming Budget.

    The meetings were held virtually and Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad and other senior officials also attended the meeting.

    “Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman chairs her 1st #PreBudget2023 consultation with the first group of captains from Industry & experts of #Infrastructure and #ClimateChange, in New Delhi, today,” the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.

    “The 2nd #PreBudget2023 meeting is being attended by MoS Finance Shri @mppchaudhary and Dr @DrBhagwatKarad ; Finance Secretary Dr T.V. Somanathan; Secretaries of DEA, @SecyDIPAM, DoR, @DFS_India, CEA Dr Anantha Nageswaran & Senior Economic Advisor @FinMinIndia,” it added.

    The participants gave suggestions on the 2023-24 Budget, which will be presented in Parliament by the Finance Minister on February 1. 

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  • FM Sitharaman to begin pre-budget consultations from today

    FM Sitharaman to begin pre-budget consultations from today

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    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will begin her pre-budget meetings from Monday starting with industry leaders and experts in infrastructure and climate change.

    The meetings will be held virtually by Sitharaman seeking suggestions for the 2023-24 budget-making from stakeholders.

    “Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman will be holding her 1st #PreBudget2023 consultations with the captains from industry and experts of #Infrastructure and #ClimateChange in two groups, tomorrow, 21st Nov. 2022, in forenoon and afternoon,” the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.

    On November 22, the minister will meet agriculture and agro-processing industry, representatives from the financial sector and capital market.

    She will also be meeting the representatives of services sector and trade bodies, besides experts from social sector, including health, education, water and sanitation, on November 24.

    The pre-budget meetings with the trade union representatives and economists are scheduled for November 28.

    The participants will give suggestions on the 2023-24 Budget which will be presented in Parliament by the Finance Minister on February 1.
     

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  • FM Nirmala Sitharaman approves India’s first sovereign green bonds framework

    FM Nirmala Sitharaman approves India’s first sovereign green bonds framework

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    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday approved the final sovereign green bonds framework to fund environmentally sustainable projects. 

    Green bonds are financial instruments that generate funds for investment in environmentally sustainable and climate-suitable projects. Also, green bonds command a relatively lower cost of capital compared to regular bonds.

    Today’s approval will strengthen India’s commitment towards its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) targets, adopted under the Paris Agreement, and help in attracting global and domestic investments in eligible green projects, the Ministry of Finance said.

    The proceeds generated from the issuance of such bonds will be deployed in public sector projects which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.

    The framework comes close in the footsteps of India’s commitments under “Panchamrit” as elucidated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 at Glasgow in November 2021.

    The approval is the fulfillment of the announcement in the Union Budget FY 2022-23 by the Union Finance Minister that Sovereign Green Bonds will be issued for mobilising resources for green projects.

    An independent and globally renowned organisation – CICERO –  was appointed to evaluate India’s green bonds framework and certify alignment of the framework with ICMA’s Green Bond Principles and international best practices.

    After due deliberation and consideration, the organisation has rated India’s Green Bonds Framework as ‘Medium Green’ with a ‘Good’ governance score, the ministry said.

    In November last year, PM Modi, while speaking at COP26 Summit in Glasgow, presented five elements – Panchamrit – to deal with the climate change challenge.

    “First- India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. Second – India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030. Third- India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now onwards till 2030. Fourth- By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 percent. And fifth- by the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero,” he had said. 
     

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  • Nirmala Sitharaman to visit US for annual meetings of the IMF-World Bank

    Nirmala Sitharaman to visit US for annual meetings of the IMF-World Bank

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    Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman will visit USA on October 11, 2022. During her visit, Sitharaman will attend the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor (FMCBG) Meetings.

    The Finance Minister will take part in bilateral meetings with countries like Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bhutan, New Zealand, Egypt, Germany, Mauritius, UAE, Iran and Netherlands. She will hold one-on-one meetings with leaders & heads of OECD, European Commission and UNDP. The Finance Minister is also scheduled to meet the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and David Malpass, President, World Bank separately to discuss issues of mutual interest.

     Sitharaman will deliberate on the multiplier effects created in India through the interlinkages of ‘Technology, Finance and Governance’ at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), John Hopkins University during the visit.

    “During the latter part of the visit, the Union Finance Minister will attend roundtable meetings with USIBC and USISPF on themes to ‘Strengthen Investment and Innovation in India-US Corridor’ and “Investing in India’s Digital Revolution”. These meetings are aimed at showcasing India’s attractiveness as an investment destination and will have the participation of leading business leaders and investors,” the Finance Ministry stated.

    Also read: Paytm sees a big jump in loan disbursals, run rate reaches Rs 34,000 cr in September

    Also read: PM Modi announces new international airport for Gujarat’s Bharuch

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